The Ukraine government grumbles the WTO panel had found fault with alleged failings by Kiev over how it had justified levying the duties, which are supposed to give local industries time to react to an import boom and become competitive....More

The Open Europe think tank says U.K. car exports could face EU import tariffs of up to 10% following a potential Brexit, impacting EU-oriented volume manufacturers such as Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall. Premium automakers would be less affected....More

The proposal is a response to concerns expressed by many foreign automakers that the ongoing decline of the Russian automotive market may leave them unable to meet their obligations to reach 75% levels of localization by 2018....More

China's Commerce Ministry says in a statement the U.S., which has imposed duties exceeding 100% in some cases in response to alleged dumping, should "adopt a responsible attitude and actions (and) correct its mistakes."...More

A government spokesman says besides Opel, GM will add assemblies of premium brands including Cadillac at its Belarusian JV by September. The new models will be sold in Belarus, Russia and possibly other Eastern European states....More

Naomi Ishii wants Toyota to address challenges facing India. This includes improving fuel economy and reducing both pollution and road fatalities. The assumption is that an automaker helping solve these problems will increase sales....More

The government says it will take fluctuations in the value of the ruble and other currencies into account when determining the percentage of locally sourced components required in foreign automakers’ car-assembly operations....More

EV buyers no longer will have to pay a 25% sales tax on vehicles already exempt from the import duties applied to fuel-based cars. They also are allowed to use bus lanes and can be parked at reduced rates....More

The government began trying to collect the money in 2012, but Toyota launched an appeal in which the two sides disagreed on the interpretation of a clause in the free-trade agreement between Thailand and Japan....More

Yoon Dae-Sung, executive managing director of the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Assn., says the free-trade agreement has been beneficial, but measuring the size of its impact is difficult....More

Hyundai Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun said at the Cangzhou plant’s groundbreaking only that it would help increase the Beijing Hyundai Motor joint venture’s sales. He could not publicly say it was a plant Hyundai did not want to build....More

“VW tried to keep their leadership in the market by producing cars that are very safe, since Brazil has some of the deadliest roads in the world,” analyst Mauricio Muramoto says. “But Brazilians actually want better design. That is where the market is going.”...More

The countries' original 2012 agreement set a March 17 expiration date for Brazil's tariffs of up to 35% on imports of Mexican vehicles, but Brazil won an extension to buy time for its struggling auto industry to recover....More

Some European automakers have set up manufacturing plants in Brazil to get around the country’s steep taxes on imported cars. Thus a WTO ruling demanding an end to the taxes might not be wholly to the liking of everybody in the EU....More

The German automaker imports two electric vehicles into Thailand, the ’14 BMW i8 and the ’15 BMW i3. It says tax incentives and infrastructure development would make it possible for all local automakers to build EVs....More

U.S. auto-industry leaders see the Cuban market as ripe for development, but barriers to entry include the country’s still largely state-controlled economy; a lack of dealer network and financial infrastructure for car sales; and poor road quality....More

Tariffs are only the tip of the iceberg, as the main costs incurred by European and U.S. parts makers result from “divergent regulations and standards relating to emissions and safety,” says Paul Schockmel, a lobbyist for the European producers....More